TMNT: Screw-Ups Together
by animegamefanatic
Summary: Takes place after the Mutation Situation. Donnie loved April. He was hurt the most when she walked out on them, but will his feelings for her and their grave mistake shatter the bond he has with Mikey?


**Just an aftermath I wanted to do. Takes Place after Mutation situation.**

 **bold italic = angry**

Italic = Flashback.

* * *

Donnie continued to sit at his desk typing up his notes on his latest attempt at perfecting the retro-mutagen. The purple bandana turtle rubbed his tired eyes as he looked at the clock. 1:39 AM; exactly 5 to 7 and a half hours ago since their latest mission. A mission that ended in disaster, and a mission that cost him and his brother's something dearly: Their first and only human friend, April O'Neil.

April...his beautiful, sweet chinchilla. She never looked so hurt.

 _"I NEVER WANNA SEE YOUR FACES! EVER AGAIN!"_

The anger, the cruelty of her words, they hurt. They continue to stab at his heart as the burning sensation in his chest began to grow. He felt tears form and threatened to fall. Splinter was right; he and his brothers let their victory go to their heads, and April's dad, as well as thousands of people, paid the price because of their mistake. Granted, it wasn't entirely their fault, but they were still responsible. All because the four turtles got too cocky and failed to prevent the mutagen from falling.

What hurt even worse was that April never gave them a chance to explain. Granted the turtles had to tell her eventually, but Donnie wished they had time to explain to her what had happened. Unfortunately, Mikey had to open his big mouth and tell April that it was their fault. Granted, the youngest was trying to keep their friend from blaming herself, but he should have waited until they could tell her. Never before had Donnie seen April look so angry. Her beautiful blue eyes, normally kind and gentle, glared at the four brothers with burning hatred. Her angry words and disappointed look continued to haunt him. While April did have a right to be angry with them, considering everything she just got her father back, as well as everything she went through to get her life back, he would have thought she of all people would have known that the turtles would never do anything to hurt her or anyone for that matter, especially on purpose. He guessed wrong.

It wasn't fair, none of it was! Nobody should have to suffer all because of he and his brothers made a mistake! Nobody deserved to have their lives ruined all because of an accident that happened beyond their control! Nobody should have been mutated all because they screwed up!

Screw up...those were two more words that haunted the genius turtle as well.

 _"All that mutagen? You two are the biggest screw-ups ever!"_

The anger and frustration Donnie felt as he relived red bandana brother's cruel words. Who did Raph think he was!? He was just as responsible for the mutagen spill as the rest of them were. Yet he chose to blame it all on him and Mikey, all because he wanted someone to yell at.

Mikey...the thought of his little brother hurt him as well. Donnie couldn't hold the tears any longer as he felt them flow. Not too long after the brothers came home and told their father what happened, Mikey immediately tried to comfort him. What did Donnie do? He repaid Mikey's kindness by being just as cruel as April and Raph.

 _(Flash Back)_

 _Donnie sat down on in the pit, staring at his feet. He didn't move ever since the turtles told Splinter what had happened. He had never felt so empty. The girl he loved had taken his heart_  
 _and crushed it into a thousand pieces. He felt tears falling down and dripping to the floor. The purple turtle never felt so miserable in his entire life._

 _"Um, Donnie."_

 _Donnie sighed as he looked up to see Mikey staring at him. His baby blue eyes looked at him with concern. Donnie couldn't bare to look at them; they reminded him too much of April's. He looked away from the youngest turtle and back at the floor._

 _"What is it, Mikey?" He asked, almost rudely._

 _"I just wanted to see how you were doing," Mikey replied nervously as he twiddled his thumbs._

 _"About the same." Donnie said rather bluntly, "Heartbroken and miserable."_

 _"It's gonna be okay D." Mikey comforted. "It's like Raph said, Once April calms down, she'll come back and everything will be back to normal."_

 _"Except for one teeny tiny thing Mikey."_

 _"What's that?"_

 _"ALL THE FLIPPING MUTANTS THAT'LL BE RUNNING AROUND NEW YORK!" Donnie Shouted as he stood up looking at his brother in anger. Mikey jumped back in surprise over his brother's sudden burst of anger. He bit his lip as Donnie continued his rant. "Even if April was STILL here, we still have a mutant problem, Mikey! Several people could be mutated right about now and it's all our fault!"_

 _"But we'll fix it, Donnie!" Mikey replied, attempting to calm his purple classed brother, "We'll find a way to get all the canisters back, fix our mistake and everything will be back to normal."_

 _"And what if it doesn't Mikey!?" Donnie snapped "Even IF we managed to find a way to fix all of this, who knows if April's ever going to come back!" The genius turtle stomped up to the youngest, getting up in his face and point his finger accusingly at him as he continued, "She hates us enough as it is and it's all your FAULT!"_

 _"My fault!?" Mikey cried out appalled "For what!? Being honest! You can't blame me for telling her something she had a right to know! That's not fair!"_

 _"No, what's not fair, is the hundreds of people who are possibly being mutated as we speak and are alone and afraid as Mr. O'Neil is, all because we messed up!" Donnie turned away as he walked out of the pit. "Being mutants maybe our norm, but it isn't for millions of others who have been human their entire lives! Think about that for once!"_

 _"I know that Donnie!" Mikey argued. "It sucks, I get that. But we can still fix it!"_

 _"Not everything can be fixed Mikey!' Donnie argued back, his back still turned to his brother. "It's not easy to fix a mistake like this! It could take weeks, months, or even years to find a cure for all of this!" Donnie started to calm down a bit as he continued, "By then April will have probably forgotten about us and moved on."_

 _"That's not true D." Mikey said in a comforting tone, forgetting his anger instantly, "She'll come back. She just needs to be alone for a bit, but when she realizes it was all a mistake she'll come back and-"_

 _"Mikey, you don't get it do you!" Donnie turned around facing his brother in anger once again. "Not all mistakes can be fixed easily! And this is one of them! It was one that never should have happened!" His mahogany eyes stared intensely into Mikey's baby blue eyes. Then, either out of pure cruelty or unintentionally, Donnie said something that made Mikey feel like he was being stabbed in the heart._

 _"Mistakes may be okay with you, but not me!" Donnie growled bitterly, then yelled, "I'M NOT A SCREW UP LIKE YOU!"_

 _Mikey's eyes widen in shock by that last statement. He felt his heart was being drained of all of its blood as it began to slow down. Tears threatened to form, but the already distraught turtle didn't want to give his angry brother the satisfaction of seeing him cry. Having heard the commotion, Splinter, along with Raph and Leo rushed into the living room to see Donnie breathing heavily as he angrily looked at Mikey, who looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Before anyone could ask what happened, Mikey immediately turned away from Donnie and ran straight to his room, slamming the door in the process._

 _(End of Flashback)_

Donnie never felt sicker in his life. How could he have said such a cruel thing to his brother? He had never felt so disappointed in himself. In fact, the others looked just as disgusted as he was. Raph would have killed him if it hadn't been for Leo holding him back and Splinter being there. But he wasn't off the hook, Splinter reprimanded him for saying such a heartless thing, demanding that he apologize to Mikey the next time he saw him. Donatello, despite his stubbornness and anger at the time, willingly complied. He may have had a temper that was just as bad as Raph's, but he knew better than to argue with his father. He was lucky enough Splinter didn't ground him, but being forced to do extra chores and training, along with most of his science and inventing privileges taken away was no picnic either. still, it was nothing compared to what Splinter had said to him after he finished telling Donnie his punishment.

 _"My son, I know you are anxious to make amends with April and that you love her, but is it worth destroying the bonds you have with your brothers?"_

His father's words echoed through his head. Splinter was right, as much as Donnie loved April, trying to make her like him again wasn't worth  
shattering the bond he had with Mikey. Guilt began to flood through Donnie's heart as his anxiety rose. What was he thinking when he said those things to Mikey? He was his best friend and someone who looked up to him. He was supposed to protect Mikey, not hurt him. He was no better than Raph.

Standing up from his chair and putting away most of his research, pertaining to the retro-mutagen, Donnie left the lab and headed straight for Mikey's room. He wanted to check up on his brother to see if he was still awake. If he was, he would apologize, if not, he would wait until morning. Donnie walked up to Mikey's bedroom door, and knocked, but made sure it wasn't loud enough to wake everyone up. After no answer, Donnie opened it slightly and peered into his little brother's room.

"Mike? You awake?" Donnie whispered as he slowly entered the youngest turtle's room. "Mikey?"

No answer.

"Mikey, I'm sorry about what I said. It was stupid of me." Donnie tipped toed up to Mikey's bed as he continued his apology. "Mikey?"

When he reached Mikey's bed he saw that it was empty. Guilt and remorse were replaced with fear and worry as Donnie exited the room. He went straight to Leo and Raph's bedroom doors and banged on them, desperate to get their attention.

"Guys! Wake up!" He pleaded, "Guys!"

"Holy sewer gates Donnie!" Raph cried out as he exited his room, rubbing his eyes tiredly "What the Hell are you yelling about?!"

"Donnie, it's late! What are you still doing up!?" Leo scolded as he exited his room.

"I'm sorry guys, but we have a problem!" Donnie cried out.

"It better be worth it if you're waking us up!" Raph snapped.

"Mikey's missing!" Donnie cried.

 **"WHAT!?"** the two brothers rushed to the youngest's room and saw he wasn't in his room. Raph picked up his T-Phone and dialed Mikey's number, only for the remaining brothers to see that Mikey left his phone in his room.

"Oh crap! Where did he go!?" Leo cried out.

"I-I don't know!" Donnie stuttered.

"Of course you don't!" Raph snapped, "You're too worried about getting your girlfriend back to even pay attention to your little brother!"

"What's that suppose to mean!?" Donnie asked defensively.

"What? Calling him a screw up doesn't ring a bell Dorkatello!?"

"Like you're one to talk Rage-eal!" Donnie snapped as he got up in Raph's face, "Back in the Kraang Stealth ship, you were quick to blame him and Me for not catching the mutagen spill! Do the words _"You two are the biggest screw-ups ever!"_ Ring a bell!"

"Donnie Calm down!" Leo demanded, but Donnie didn't back down as he glared at Leo.

"Stay out of this Leo!" Donnie snapped and turned his attention back to Raph, "You and Leo both could have grabbed a canister too, but did you? NO!"

"Don't you dare pin this on me!" Raph snapped as he got up in his face.

"Both of you enough!" Leo snapped angrily, but that angered Donnie more.

"And you Fearless!" Donnie growled as his pointed his finger at Leo, "You and your _amazing plan_ to catch Mr. O'Neil by using Mikey as bait!"

"You were in on it too!" Leo snapped, "And unlike you, Raph and I already apologized to him you-"

 **"Yame!"**

The boys turned to see their father glaring at them. He had heard the commotion and did not appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night to see three of his sons arguing, over who knows what. The boys bowed their head in shame, feeling guilty that they disturbed their father in the middle of the night.

"What is going on here!?" Splinter demanded, "Do you three have any idea what time it is!?"

"We're sorry Sensei." Donnie apologized, almost quietly. "We didn't mean to disturb you."

"Then why were you arguing?" the mutant rat demanded, "And why are you inside Michelangelo's room?"

"Mikey's missing sensei!" Leo spoke up. "Donnie went to his room and he's gone."

Splinter turned to Donnie whose head was still lowered in shame as the second youngest began to explain.

"I just wanted to see if he was still awake so I could apologize to him." Donnie admitted sadly, "What if he left because of what I said to him!?"

"Calm yourself, my son, Michelangelo is still here." Splinter reassured as the other turtles looked at him confused. "He had trouble sleeping so he asked if he could sleep in my room."

"Your room?" Raph asked in confusion.

"Yes, he has not done that since you boys were still small." Splinter sighed, "Tonight's events must be troubling him still."

"And I made it worse," Donnie said in disappointment. He felt Splinter placing his hand on his shoulder and looked up as Splinter said:

"My son, go to him. You both need to sort this out."

Donnie nodded as he walked towards the dojo and straight into Splinter's room. He could see Mikey sleeping on a cot, his shell turned to him. Donnie was hesitant to wake him up, still feeling guilty over what happened, but it was now or never. He crept over to Mikey and tapped him gently on the shoulder, whispering his name.

"Mikey? Mikey wake up."

Mikey sat up, rubbing his eyes and turned to see Donnie kneeling next to him.

"Is it morning?" Mikey asked tiredly.

"No, still late." Donnie Chuckles nervously. "Um, Mikey listen, I-"

"Donnie." Mikey interrupted, "I-I'm sorry about what happened."

"You're sorry?"

Mikey nodded as he continued. "I know I should have waited until everything was calm, but I didn't like April blaming herself. If I knew that's how she was gonna react I would have. I messed up big."

Donnie couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mikey was blaming himself for what happened? Donnie could feel his heart ping with pain, and it worsen as Mikey continued.

"I-I tried to call her, to apologize and etc. but she didn't answer." Mikey admitted sadly, "I just wanted to make things right again bro. I'm sorry."

"Mikey, you have nothing to be sorry for," Donnie said as he wrapped an arm around him. "If anyone should be sorry, it's me."

"You?"

"I shouldn't have said those things to you Mikey; it wasn't right." Donnie said remorsefully, "I was so upset over April leaving, that I forgot that you guys were still here. I had no right to make it seem like it was all your fault or call you a screw-up; especially since we all are to blame."

"It's cool D." Mikey said as he engulfed Donnie into a hug, "I know how much she means to you, and I don't blame you."

"It still wasn't right of me though." Donnie sighed, "Just like Leo, I tend to forget that everyone makes them. Granted ours was big, but it was one that was beyond our control."

"Heh, guess we're both a couple of screw ups." Mikey joked quietly as he rubbed his head.

"I guess you could say that." Donnie lightly chuckled. "All we need are jackets and we have a club."

Mikey couldn't help but laugh, and Donnie was relieved to see his brother smiling as he hugged him again.

"So, um...we cool?" Donnie asked quietly.

"Cool like a cucumber bro." Mikey smiled.

After a bit, Mikey yawned and drifted back to sleep in Donnie's arms. Donnie smiled and rubbed Mikey's head as his little brother drifted back to sleep. The purple turtle was tempted to leave and let his brother sleep, but the sight of Mikey's peaceful form just made him want to stay a bit longer. Donnie nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Raph and Leo standing next to him, smiling.

"So you guys worked it out?" Raph asked quietly, not wanting to wake Mikey up.

"Yeah, we're good," Donnie replied.

"Donnie looks," Raph said hesitantly, "I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's fine Raph," Donnie replied. "I'm sorry too. To both of you."

"We know D," Leo said as he and Raph sat down next to Donnie. "It's all gonna be okay though, we'll get through this and make everything right."

"Just give April a few days and I'm sure she'll come around," Raph reassured.

"But," Donnie asked almost hesitant. "What if she doesn't? What if she never comes back?"

"Well, if she doesn't, then maybe she's not the one for you," Leo answered with a slight frown.

"But we'll worry about that later," Raph said, desperate to change the subject. "For now let's focus on getting the mutagen back and keeping any more mutants from being made."

"Yeah." Donnie nodded in agreement.

"Also, if you guys are going to have jackets for your little mess up club, make sure mine's in red and the letters are in flames."

"Huh?" Donnie asked confusingly.

"Well, Leo and I messed up too right?" Raph replied teasingly.

"Doesn't that make us part of the club?" Leo joked.

"Yeah." Donnie chuckled. "I guess so."

Splinter smiled as he watched his sons reconcile, relieved that they worked it out. Yes, it was a terrible night filled with misfortune and heartbreak, but he was relieved that his sons still managed to work their troubles out. He watched his sons lay down on the cot where Mikey was sleeping. Grabbing an extra blanket, he covered them up before retiring to his own cot.

As for Donnie, he felt the guilt and other negative feelings starting to vanish. While he was still worried that April would never forgive them, he was still relieved that his brothers were still here. At least they would never leave him no matter how many mistakes he made. As he started to drift into slumber, Donnie smiled knowing, that despite the mess they made, they still had each other's backs and that it was one they could all work together to fix. They screwed up big, but they did it together and were determined to fix it together.

* * *

 **A little cheesy I know. But I hope you all enjoyed it.**


End file.
